Three minutes into his first press conference and first public appearance as Syracuse’s new head coach Dino Babers said it flatly: “This is not a destination job for me,” followed by just a split second of silence.

“I mean this is —,” he continued before cutting himself off and correcting himself again. “This could be a destination job for me.”

The attendants laughed. Babers apologized, saying twice that he was a “little nervous.” But he actually got it right the first time.

Ten years ago, Ethan Ramsey, The Daily Orange’s sports editor at the time, argued that Syracuse wouldn’t warrant serious national title consideration for “at least the next 10 years, probably more.” He was right on both accounts.

Syracuse won’t contend for a New Year’s Six bowl within the next 10 years because Babers isn’t here to stay. He’ll have success, we’ve seen it already, but then he’ll be gone, leaving the Orange struggling to pick up the pieces once again.

SU is Babers’ 15th stop since he started coaching in 1984. He’s held two other head coaching jobs, both of which came within the last four years. He coached just two seasons at both schools.

At Eastern Illinois, Babers took two 2-9 seasons in a row and turned them into a 12-2 conference championship winning campaign in his second year. At Bowling Green, his teams played in Mid-American Conference title games both years, winning the second.

He begged SU fans to give him time before and during the season. He prepared them to wait until the second or third year, then knocked off then-No.17 Virginia Tech in the Carrier Dome. He compared his team to the raw batter of a cake, but it’s situated well within reach of a bowl game with three contests left in the regular season. The cake is already in the oven.

The team’s exposure is already skyrocketing with quarterback Eric Dungey and receiver Amba Etta-Tawo’s record-shattering performances and Babers’ own postgame locker room speech broadcast on ESPN.

“The first year, it’s like I’m watching reruns of Gilligan’s Island,” Babers said before the season. “It’s like I know what’s going to happen next. It’s kind of boring the first year. The second year is really cool. You get to the tempo and speed that you want.

“The best thing about this story is I’ve never had an opportunity to go to a third year. … I really hope I get an opportunity to go for a third year at Syracuse because that would be new water for me.”

He’s had the chance, he just skipped out early. But you can’t blame him. With success comes notoriety and other, better places to go.

Bowling Green wasn’t Syracuse. But Syracuse isn’t Alabama, Clemson or Louisiana State and it’s hard to think it ever will be.

Babers often points out the difference between SU and the powerhouses in the South. He makes quips about lacking the same number of coaches Clemson has or the extravagant facilities to wow recruits.

A lot of people told Babers not to take the Syracuse job. Only one person did. He’ll get other job offers, it’s just a matter of where.

The year after Babers left Eastern Illinois, the Panthers lost seven games and have lost at least five games each year since. Bowling Green is 2-8, amid one of its worst seasons in program history. The Falcons have lost two games by more than 60 points each.

Any transition between coaches is rough, but when Babers leaves he takes nearly everything and everyone with him — a reputation he acknowledges and embraces. Babers brought in just three coaches new to him at SU.

“I felt that we were in good shape,” Babers said of how he left Bowling Green. “I’m sure that (former Syracuse head coach Scott) Shafer felt like he was in fantastic shape, as most coaches do when they leave a program they think they leave it better than they find it, but that’s not for me to judge. You guys can decide that stuff.”

When Babers leaves there’ll be no coordinators to promote in hopes of some continuity. Co-offensive coordinator Sean Lewis, defensive coordinator Brian Ward and the rest with likely be gone with him. What’ll be left is a group of players fine-tuned to run a system that probably won’t be coming back.

A team stuck rebuilding every several years will have no place on the national stage.

Don’t get me wrong. Be excited. Dino Babers is going to have success in Syracuse. It’s just that the more he has and the quicker it comes, the worse it will be for SU down the road.

Jon Mettus is an Asst. Sports Editor at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at jrmettus@syr.edu or @jmettus.

Published on November 11, 2016 at 1:27 pm